So what so special about these dies. I saw where another person, Dutch recommended them for runout problems. He also recommended the Lyman M die. I was always scared of these dies due to they flared neck. What do you guys think?

I like the Lee collet dies. They work quite well, and I think that dies such as these give you a slight degree better accuracy than those that full length resize. When coupled with flash hole deburring and neck turning, you can produce some very accurate loads. The only thing to keep in mind, however is that the bullet on neck-sized ammo may creep further into the case neck under moderate to heavy recoil when placed in the magazing. I pretty much feed each round by hand even in my bolt guns.

I'd give collet dies a try if you have not already.

Bigcountry, the Lyman "M" die only flares the case mouth if you set it up to flare. I never use that feature. FWIW, Dutch.

I'm a fan of the Lee collet die. I prefer it over any other neck die I have used, including the Redding S bushing dies. I use the Lee collet die in conjunction with a Forster Ultra seater to produce ammo with practically no runout. As a bonus, you don't have to lube your brass when using this die.

I get my most accurate .308 match ammo with the Lee collet die, and have had no problem with bullets moving under recoil.

Love 'em. They, for me make my most accurate ammo ever and the require so little preasure to resize that I can easily take a whole kit to the range using a hand press to work up loads. If your concerned about bullet creep on recoil, I think they make a crimp die as well.

Of course If your reloading for more than one rifle ina caliber or an auto-loading rifle full case length resizing is probably what would need to be done.

My two cents.

[ 09-04-2002, 19:27: Message edited by: builder ]

Dutch, your the guy that recommended this technique. So let me get this right, you recommend if I want to full length size to take out my expander ball out of my RCBS die. Run the brass thru as normal, then The lee collet die will do the job of my expander ball. Is this right?

If you FL size a case with or without the expander ball the pin in the Lee die will not go into the neck then.

I read there are Redding body dies. Someone may be able to explain them.

While Lee collet dies do produce little runout so do ordinary RCBS type FL dies! And for most hunting rifles a FL sized case is a better all around and more reliable round.

I don't like the seating die that Lee provides with the collet die. I does not support or align the bullet well in my observation.

I like the LEE dies,no lube and they shoot better then just FL sizing. I have one in .223 REM and use this gun for our clubs informal benchrest matches, I sometimes scare the guys with the custom guns! The only down side is the rounds only fit the gun you fired them in.
The "M" die I have in .30 cal is a big help when loading cast bullets.

Big country, no, that's not quite it. You can take your f/l die, take the expander ball out, and then run the Lyman "M" die into the neck to expand it. This, for some reason that eludes me, produces straighter necks than using the expander ball, for me.

My personal favorite is to use the Redding body die (which sizes only the body and pushes the shoulder back) in combination with the Lee collet die. The Collet die squeezes the neck down. Not only does it give straight ammo, it also works the neck less than a standard f/l die.

Here's why: A standard die squeezes the neck down, past where it needs to go, and then sizes it back up with the expander ball. Say, .015 down, and .005 back up. The collet die, on the other hand, only squeezes the neck down .01, to where is should be. Less brass moving around, less hardening, more consistent bullet pull.

I've been playing with a pretty accurate rifle (my 6PPC), and I cannot tell a difference in accuracy between the bushing die and the collet die -- both stay at half MOA (shooter limited, unfortunately).

Either way you do it, you have to run your brass through twice (if you need to bump the shoulder). But, in the search for the "ultimate accuracy", and after brass weighing, neck turning, flash hole deburring, primer pocket reaming, voodoo spells casting, and the accuracy dance, that seems like a small price to pay. HTH, Dutch.

Bigcountry,

There's an answer to your e-mail waiting on your work computer.

I take it your personal e-mail crashed and burned.

GAH.